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Concept Diagram Project about Extinction

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The concept diagram depicts various methods of extinction, which is the complete

disappearance of species from the earth. Every year, species go extinct; however, historically the

average rate of extinction has been slower with some few conceptions. Even though evolution

has been found to be the change in heritable traits such as the animals’ physical features or

behavior over generations, it can also lead to animals’ extinction. The loss of habitat has been

found to be the primary cause of higher rates of extinction in living animals. Other causes that

relate to evolution, such as global warming, threats to biodiversity, adaptation, and poaching,

have been shown on the concept map. The factors below, shown on the concept diagram, cause

the extinction of living organisms and are closely related to human and environmental evolution.

Adaption

There are several patterns or theories that define evolution, and adaptation is one of them.

Adaptation can be regarded as the process whereby new species arise from pre-existing ones. All

living things have changed rapidly or gradually since they came to Earth. Adaptation of species

to their environment is likely to cause variation in diversity and species in a given population. As

animals get adapted to their environment, new offspring with more desirable characteristics are

reproduced. As new organisms are reproduced, the old ones become extinct. A good example is

the giraffe, which has continuously gone through the three concepts of evolution such as

inheritance, variation, and adaptation.

Global warming

This is another factor of extinction that relates to human evolution. The world is

continuously warming to a degree beyond what many living organisms can endure, eliminating
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or changing their habitat and diminishing food resources. This has also caused draughts and

other species to harm severe weather events, even killing those species that cannot endure the

heat. Global warming also interacts with those threats, such as habitat loss and overharvesting, to

further exacerbate the decline of species. Due to evolution, human activities have increasingly

led to environmental pollution, which is the leading cause of climate change. The polar bears,

seals, and arctic penguins are at risk from global warming. Organisms in cold areas such those in

Polar Regions or higher mountains are particularly facing high risks of extinction.

Threats to biodiversity

Another factor of extinction due to the organisms’ evolution is the threat of biodiversity.

As shown on the concept diagram, the elephants, white rhinos, orangutans, and many other

animals are continuously getting isolated, and their food resources and shelter are declining. The

human-wildlife conflict has greatly increased because, with limited natural habitat, these

organisms come into contact with humans and are mostly captured or killed. According to the

scientific community, there are five main global threats that are considered responsible for these

losses. These include over-exploitation, habitat destruction, biological invasions, pollution, and

climate change. However, many other local stressors and perturbations are also significant. In

addition, the loss of nature can also weaken the biodiversity that mutually defends or dilutes

against some disease threats.

Poaching

Poaching is one factor that has and is continuously causing the extinction of some animal

species. As shown on the concept diagram, the African Elephant, Amur Leopard, Black Rhino,
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Green Turtle, Hawksbill Turtle, and Indian Elephant are some organisms that greatly face

extinction due to poaching. The Amur leopards, for instance, are hunted due to their fur and are

currently categorized as critically endangered, with only a few remaining globally.

References

Dasgupta, P., Raven, P., & McIvor, A. (Eds.). (2019). Biological extinction: New perspectives.

Cambridge University Press.

Gaston, K. J., & Soga, M. (2020). Extinction of experience: The need to be more specific. People

and Nature, 2(3), 575-581.

Raven, P. H. (2020). Biological extinction and climate change. Health of People, Health of

Planet and Our Responsibility: Climate Change, Air Pollution and Health, 11-20.